Chapter 114: A Beating No Matter What

Chapter 114: Chapter 114: A Beating No Matter What ???? Important Note : For the continuity of this story consider to Support us on Pãtreon/Flokixy to access advance Chapters and To Support The Daily Update Just as everyone was scrambling to flatter him, the man who had just gone out rushed back in, his face fraught with panic. "Master, somethin Just as everyone was scrambling to flatter him, the man who had just gone out rushed back in, his face fraught with panic. "Master, something’s happened!" Jiang He said calmly, "What is it?" "Our four granaries are all empty! Not a single grain is left!" "What!! What did you say!" Jiang He shot up from his seat, glaring at him. Everyone else immediately fell silent, their faces filled with disbelief. Were their ears playing tricks on them? How could they have heard that the grain was missing? "Master, it’s true!" Jiang He immediately rushed outside, and the others hurriedly followed. The group arrived outside the granaries, saw the warehouse doors open, and inside, they were completely bare. Jiang He felt a surge of qi rise from his chest, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. "Master!" "Master Jiang!" Jiang He felt waves of dizziness wash over his head. It was over, completely over! "It’s really gone. Where did so much grain go?" "That Prince Jǐng suddenly has grain for disaster relief, but our grain has disappeared." "Go and bring me everyone who was guarding the granaries!" Jiang He propped himself up and roared in a low, deep voice. Soon, nearly two or three hundred people were kneeling in the open space, each pale-faced and trembling violently. "Speak! How did the grain disappear!" Jiang He stared at the kneeling crowd with a sinister and ruthless expression. "Master, spare our lives! We really don’t know! The warehouse doors weren’t damaged at all, and we’ve been guarding them day and night. We honestly don’t know that the grain was already gone." Jiang He sneered, "A joke! Someone among you must have colluded with outsiders to move the grain! If you don’t confess, none of you will live!" "Master, spare us! Master, spare us." "Spare us! This lowly one is innocent!" Other than begging for mercy, they truly didn’t know what else to do. They racked their brains but couldn’t figure out why the granaries were empty. "Men! Throw them into the great jail! Use severe torture to extract confessions!" Jiang He roared, his whole body trembling. "Spare us! Spare..." The cries for mercy faded into the distance, and the scene instantly fell silent. No one dared to make a sound. That was four warehouses full of grain! Just who could have done it? After a long moment, Jiang He said coldly, "The locks and doors of these granaries are completely undamaged, yet the grain is gone. Prefect, interrogate that group thoroughly for me. I don’t believe that much grain could just fly away or vanish into the earth!" The Prefect replied, trembling, "Yes, yes, I will definitely investigate thoroughly!" Jiang He continued, "Let’s go! We’ll go find Prince Jǐng and demand an explanation!" Their grain had disappeared, and just then, the other side had grain for disaster relief. How could there be such a coincidence in the world! Jun Mo was drinking tea with Su Li when Si Qin came in to report that Master Jiang He had arrived with a group of people. The two of them seemed to have anticipated this, not showing the slightest concern. "Let them in." Soon, Si Qin led the group in. "Your Highness Prince Jǐng, you must seek justice for us!" As soon as Jiang He entered, he put on a woeful face and cried out about his grievances. Jun Mo raised an eyebrow and said, "The Jiang family truly lives up to its reputation as a great clan, to actually be able to find this place." Jiang He was taken aback. How was he supposed to answer that? Was he to say he’d had people following them all along? "Your Highness jests. We only found out by asking the Prefect." It was not appropriate for the Prefect to appear in this matter. They were common people; it was somewhat justifiable for them to seek out Prince Jǐng. If the Prefect came, it would be awkward. Jun Mo smiled, "If you have matters, you should go to the Prefect. This Prince is merely here for disaster relief and is not very familiar with Shu Du. I’m afraid I won’t be able to help you all." Jiang He exchanged a look with the person beside him and continued, "Your Highness may not know, but today, seeing the Su family donate grain for disaster relief, we were deeply moved. We were originally preparing to donate our grain and join in the relief efforts, but we discovered that the grain in our warehouses had vanished into thin air! That’s four warehouses of grain! We implore Your Highness Prince Jǐng to help us catch that detestable grain thief!" "Yes, yes, that was grain pooled together by all of us!" Su Li looked at the crowd with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile. "How strange. If your things are lost, you should report it to the Prefect." Jiang He glanced at Su Li and said, "Our grain is lost, yet the Su family immediately has grain for disaster relief. Isn’t it obvious that the Su family stole our grain! We implore Your Highness to return the Su family’s grain!" Jun Mo’s face still held a smile. "If this Prince remembers correctly, you all just signed a document stating you had no grain in your homes. Only a day has passed, and you suddenly have four warehouses of grain. Are you all trying to fool this Prince?" Su Li produced a stack of papers; they were precisely the documents declaring no grain, which they had personally signed. "Let’s not even talk about whether the Su family’s grain is yours. Just for the act of deceiving Prince Jǐng, each of you deserves a hundred strokes of the heavy plank!" Su Li said with a smile. The faces of the crowd showed alarm. They hadn’t even gotten the grain back, and now their lives were on the line! Jiang He, in a moment of desperation, said, "Your Highness may not know, but these four warehouses of grain are indeed not ours. They belong to the Sixth Prince. We were merely responsible for guarding them." "Yes, yes! We just received instructions from the Sixth Prince to donate the grain, only to find it stolen." Everyone silently praised Master Jiang. Thanks to him, they had avoided a hundred strokes of the heavy plank. Jun Mo looked at the relieved expressions of the crowd with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile. "Oh? This Prince didn’t expect Sixth Imperial Brother to have so much grain in Shu Du. Sixth Imperial Brother is righteous and wishes to donate grain for disaster relief. But you all failed in your duty of guarding it, leading to the grain being stolen. Sixth Imperial Brother will surely be very angry when he finds out, and I fear he will punish you all. Since this Prince has encountered this matter, I shall act on Sixth Imperial Brother’s behalf. Men!" Jiang He was greatly alarmed and hurriedly shouted, "Your Highness! The most urgent matter now is to find the grain!" Jun Mo said, "No rush. This Prince will first vent my Imperial Brother’s anger." Mo Yang entered with several soldiers. "Your Highness!" Jun Mo said coldly, "These people have neglected their duties and lost the Sixth Prince’s disaster relief grain. Award each of them a hundred strokes of the heavy plank for this Prince!" "Yes!" With a wave of Mo Yang’s hand, the soldiers stepped forward and seized Jiang He and the others. Jiang He shouted in panic, "Prince Jǐng! I am the Sixth Prince’s maternal uncle! No matter how angry the Sixth Prince is, he wouldn’t dare to beat me!" Jun Mo smiled, "Sixth Brother is probably too embarrassed to do it himself. This Prince will handle it for him. Begin." No matter what he said, Jun Mo was determined to deliver these hundred strokes today! Several men were forced down in the courtyard, and the sound of planks falling, pīlipālā, echoed. The courtyard filled with incessant, miserable cries. "Aiyo! Master Jiang, save me!" "Prince Jǐng, spare us!" "Aiyo! This old man... this old man’s little life... is probably... going to be left here!" "Ah! Prince Jǐng... show mercy!" Jun Mo and Su Li watched calmly. These people, even if beaten to death, wouldn’t be an injustice. Concealing the disaster, deceiving superiors and deluding subordinates, cornering the victims, and inflating grain prices... They gave the disaster victims no way to live. Now that the planks fell on them, they too knew pain! An incense stick’s time later. "Your Highness, the beating is finished." Looking at the group now, they were breathing in more than they were breathing out. Several had already lost consciousness. "Alright, this Prince will investigate the matter of Sixth Brother’s stolen grain. You may all return for now." Jiang He’s face was contorted in pain, the flesh trembling. His eyes were downcast; he didn’t dare look at Jun Mo, worried that the hatred in his eyes would be discovered. Jun Mo, I, Jiang He, swear that I cannot live under the same sky as you! The others also hated Jun Mo to the core in their hearts but dared not say more. People came forward to carry the men out and clean the bloodstains in the garden. Soon, the courtyard returned to its previous quiet.